“We take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding,” President Barack Obama told the nation. “Fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm's way.” That may be true in terms of how many American troops are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the tide is not turning when it comes to how many Americans are being killed or coming home wounded.

 

Casualty figures show that U.S. troop deaths in Iraq are on pace for a 16% increase over those recorded last year. In 2010, 60 service personnel were killed in Iraq. So far this year 33 have died, which projects out to 70 for all of 2011.

 

In Afghanistan, American fatalities over the last three months are up 7% from the same period in 2010. Overall, since the president’s December 2009 speech announcing the troop surge, there have been 704 U.S. deaths in Afghanistan. Prior to the surge, 429 were killed during the same period of time (569 days).

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Did Obama Mislead Americans on Trends in U.S. Troop Fatalities? (by Eric Ostermeier, Smart Politics)